Dredge and well-borer.



Patented Aug. 5, I902. C. EHRENFELD. DRED'GE AND WELL 50mm.-

(Applicatiofi filed May 2, 1595.

(No Model.)

CHARLES EHRENFELD, OF PASADENA, CALIFORNIA.

DREDGE AND WELL-BORER.

SPEGIFTGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 706,396, dated August5, 1902. Application filed May alses. Serial No. 679,537. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom itnmy concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES EHRENFELD, a citizen of the United States,residing at Pasadena, in the county of Los Angelesand State ofCalifornia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Dredges andWell- Borers, of which the following is a specification.

The particular object of my invention is to provide a dredge orwell-borer which will be adapted for dredging quicksands or gravel inriver-bottoms and whereby the auriferous deposits may be removedtherefrom to the surface, so that the gold can be separated from thewaste.

It is also an object of myinvention to produce a device of this kindwhich may be used either as a dredge or as a well-boring machine andwhereby soil, small rocks, gravel, and clay can be rapidly excavated andreadily discharged from the cylinder of the dredgerbucket.

My invention comprises the various fea tures of construction andcombinations of parts, whereby I am enabled to provide a dredge whichwill cut from the underlying sand, gravel, clay, or soil sufficient tofill the dredge and the opening then closed, so that the dredge, withits accumulated load of material, including the finest particles, may beraised to the surface for treatment. The peculiar feature of my dredgeis that the closure of the dredge is effected by means of a shearing orsliding motion of the gate, whereby there is no liability of anyobstruction preventing the proper closure of the gate, which would allowthe escape of the material from the dredge.

In carrying out my invention I employ a hollow cylindrical body providedwith a bottom having one or more openings, with a cutting-blade at oneedge of each opening, a yoke extending over the top of the cylinder andprovided with upwardly-projecting lugs, a

shaft slidingly journaled in the yoke and in the bottom of the cylinderand provided at its lower end, above the bottom of the cylinder, with ablade to form a gate to close the opening in said bottom, and a lugextending from the side of the shaft above the yoke to engage with thelugs of the yoke to cause the cylinder to rotate with the shaft when theblade which forms the gate is against the bottom of the cylinder, but torelease the shaft and allow it to rotate when the blade has beenwithdrawn from the bottom. I have also provided the shaft with a screwto fit inside the cylinder, and I provide means for holding the screwfrom rotating after the lug of the shaft has been withdrawn from thelugs of the yoke. I also provide a collar on the shaft underneath theyoke with a setscrew to fasten the collar to the shaft to prevent theshaft from sliding when in operation, but to allow the shaft to be slidupward at the pleasure of the operator when it is desired to dump thecontents.

The accompanying drawings illustrate my invention.

Figure l is a side elevation of one of my improved dredges, portionsbeing broken away to expose the construction. In this view the gates arein theiropen position. Fig. 2 is a like View showing the gates in theirclosed positions. Fig. 3 is a vertical mid-section of a modifiedform ofdredge. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of my improved dredge in position inthe casing, whereby the quicksand may be prevented from running into theshaft excavated by the dredge. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section of oneof my improved joints for connecting the sections of shaft for operatingthe dredge.

In the drawings, A represents a hollow cylindrical body which forms thedredge and is provided in its bottom with one or more openings a. Asshown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, three openings are provided, and inFig. 2 but two openings are shown, while in Fig. 3 only one openingisprovided. Thus it will be seen that a greater or smaller number ofopenings may be provided, depending upon the size of the dredge and thecharacter of the material to be worked. Upon the bottom of the dredge atone side of each opening is secured a blade or cutter a, which isadapted to sever the material and to direct it upward into the dredge.These cutters are removable, so they may be replaced with others whennecessary.

B is a yoke which is secured to the top of the body by means of bolts1).

C is an axially-arranged shaft which is journaled in the yoke and in thebottom of the casin g and is provided with a pin or stop-arm c, which isadapted to engage with stops b upon the yoke to limit the rotation ofthe shaft. A collar b", arranged beneath the yoke and adjustably securedto the shaft by the set-screw 2, prevents the Withdrawal of the shaftfrom the dredge.

D represents gates which are secured to the lower end of the shaft andare adapted to close and unclose the openings at, according to thedirection in which the shaft and casing are being rotated.

The actuating-shaft C is made in lengths in the usual manner, the top ofeach section being provided with a square socket 0, into which fits thesquare lower end 0 of the succeeding section. Dogs d take into notches0'', provided in the square-shouldered end, and prevent its withdrawalfrom the socket.

E represents a point or center which is screwed into the lower end ofthe shaft to center the dredge duringits downward travel, and F is atubular casing or pipe which may be forced downward through thequicksand and gravel to prevent the filling in of the shaft as thedredge opens the shaft. A ring f is secured upon the inside of thebottom of the casing, and the dredge is arranged to engage therewithwhile the cutters project below the ring to sever the material inadvance of the casing; but the dredge cannot advance faster than thecasing; also, the weight of the dredger assists in forcing the casingdown.

In the event of hard clay or other stable material being found beneath abed of quicksand the ring f may be removed from the easing beforesinking the casing, so that when the casing rests upon the clay thedredge may be operated to sink the shaft on through the clay, no casingbeing required in clay to prevent caving or filling in of the shaft.

In practical operation the dredge is placed upright and is rotated bymeans of a handle G, a wrench, or other suitable appliance secured tothe shaft. If desired, steam or other power may be applied to operateit. As the dredge is rotated toward the right the shaft partiallyrotates until the stop-arm 0 comes into engagement with the stop I), andthen the openings are uncovered and the rotation of the dredge forcesthe cutters into the sand, gravel, or clay, and the loosened materialpasses upward through the openings into the dredge. When the dredge isfilled with material,the shaft is partially rotated backward, the dredgeremaining stationary, while the gates shear past the openings and closethem. Afterward the dredge,with its contained load, is raised to thesurface, the shaft partially rotated toward the right, thus uncoveringthe openings the same as during the operation of boring, and thematerial passes downward through the openings and out of the dredge.

In Fig. 3 I have shown a screw H secured to the shaft and free from thebody, so that any clay passing upward through the opening will becarried upward by the screw and prevented from packing in the lowerportion of the dredge. In this form in order to facilitate the operationof discharging the clay from the dredge I make the screw removable fromthe dredge by elongating the side arms of the yoke B, so that byloosening the set-screw which holds the collar b" upon the shaft thecollar may be slipped down until it rests upon the top of the screw H,and the shaft and the screw may then be withdrawn from the casing andthe clay and other material removed from the screw, after which thescrew is again insertgd in the dredge and secured by the collar Toprevent the rotation of the screw after the shaft has been raisedsufficiently for the stop-arm c to be above the stops 1), the edge ofthe screw is preferably provided with notches h, which engage with theyoke and prevent rotation of the screw. By preventing the rotation ofthe screw the material within the body or casing will be raised upwarduntil it slips off the screw and over the top of the easing. As soon asthe casing has been emptied the screw is lowered until the stop-arm 0enters between the pins 1), and the collar b is raised on the shaftuntil it is just below the yoke, where it is rigidly secured by thesetscrew, and the device is again ready for operation.

H represents a swivel which may be secured to the top member of theshaft, so that a suspending-rope may be secured thereto to con trol thedownward travel of the dredge and to also operate to raise the filleddredge.

It is obvious that where the bed of quicksand is not very deep the bodyof the dredge may be made of sufficient length to avoid the necessity ofusing the casing F in order to reach and remove the auriferous deposits.

H" represents a joint arranged in the shaft just above the yoke, so thatwhen desired the joint may be broken and the dredge turned upside downto empty therefrom any material which will not readily pass out throughthe openings at the bottom. A slip-collar H renders the joint stifiwhile the dredge is being operated.

Now, having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A dredge comprising a hollow cylindrical body provided with a bottomhaving an opening; a yoke extending over the top of the cylinder andprovided with upwardly-projecting lugs; a shaft slidingly journaled inthe yoke and in the bottom of the cylinder and provided at its lower endabove the bottom of the cylinder with a blade to form a gate to 'closethe opening; a lug extending from the side of the shaft above the yoketo engage with the lugs of the yoke to cause the cylinder to rotate withthe shaft when the gate is against the bottom of the cylinder; means fortemporarily holding the shaft with its lug in position to engage thelugs of the yoke; a

screw above the gate and fixed to the shaft;

and means for locking the screw against r0- tation when the shaft isbeing slid upward.

2. Adredge comprisinga hollow cylindrical 5 body provided in its bottomwith an opening;

a yoke having elongated side arms secured to the top of the casing;ashaft journaled in the yoke and in the bottom of the dredge and havinga screw secured thereto, the edges of lo the screw being provided withnotches to engage with the side arms and prevent rotation of the screw,stop-arms on the yoke; a pin on the shaft to engage with the stop-arms;and a collar on the shaft between the top of the yoke and the screw.

CHARLES EHRENFiLD.

Witnesses:

ALFRED I. TOWNSEND, JULIA TOWNSEND.

